Back in Adelaide after a wonderful writer’s festival in Reykjavik. As a writer it was so inspiring to be in a place where the arts still seem to have an important role to play. Where people buy more books per person than anywhere else in the world and where everyone you encounter, it seems, play in at least one band.
The festival was great as well, with a number of very interesting visiting writers and publishers from around the globe, as well as some great Icelandic authors. During my time there I picked up and read The Indian by former Reykjavik mayor Jon Gnarr (a book that took me right back to my own childhood) and the sharp dystopian LoveStar by Andri Snaer Magnason.
Next up is From the mouth of the whale by Sjón.
The festival recorded all the book talks (among them my discussion with Timur Vermes). You can see them here.